My NAV Centre Retreat

Yes, I have been a bad blogger. I haven't updated my blog since June. In my defence, it was a busy summer. We were trying to (unsuccessfully) potty train my little guy. Plus, I discovered that I was pregnant! Anyone who has ever been pregnant knows the state of exhaustion that accompanies the first trimester.

 

Anyway, enough excuses! I'm back know and I have lots of scrapbooking stuff to blog about. This past weekend, I went with a group of ladies to the NAV Centre in Cornwall for a scrapbooking retreat. I was super productive. I completed 1 single page layout and 8 double page layouts for a grand total of 17 pages! I'd like to share the pages I made with you.

 

 

My Previous NAV Centre Experience:

 

Between my friends and myself, there were a lot of pictures from my previous NAV Centre experience in April 2012. I decided to go through my stash and use leftover papers to create these pages.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Of these pages, the last one is probably my favourite, mainly because of the people in the pictures!

 

Meeting baby Coralie:

 

My friends Sylvie and Eric went through a lot to be able to have a baby. For that and many other reasons, I was very excited to meet their baby Coralie. Sam was excited too. He loves babies!

 

I had recently bought the Vintage Finds collection by Teresa Collins and I thought it would be perfect for these pictures.

 



A Family Photo Shoot:

In May of this year, I hired a very talented photographer named Julie Hearty. I was thrilled with the results. Sam isn't the easiest kid to deal with but she managed to not only get him to look at the camera but also smile!

For these pages, I used the Pemberley collection by Close to My Heart, which is simply stunning. I also used a few Prima flowers

 

 

 

Summer Fun:

 

We did a lot of fun things this summer, including a few trips to a splash pad. This layout featured pictures of Sam having fun at the splash pad near my parents' house. He LOVED the splash pad!

 

I had leftovers from the Splash collection by Echo Park and thought this was the perfect opportunity to use some of them up. I also used up most of my blue buttons!

 

 

 My 30th Birthday at Auntie Em's:

For my 30th birthday, the Divas invaded Cornwall for our first crop at Auntie Em's Scrapbooking and Beading (btw, I'm now 6 months past my 31st birthday so I'm a little behind in my scrapbooking!)

I have no idea what collection I used. If anyone can tell me, I'd appreciate it!

I love these scrapbooking retreats. I'm seriously considering going back in November with another group of ladies. I know that my time to go to these things are limited as I'm expecting baby #2 in late March 2013. These weekends are a great opportunity to focus and get stuff done. But they are also good for getting away from your everyday and spending time with friends. The best part of this weekend was getting to spend so much quality time with my bestie Diane.

 

Until next time, happy scrappin'!

 

  

 

Cari Fennell here I come!

This week marks my 29th birthday...for the 3rd time! Do the math and you figure out pretty quickly that I'm turning 31....EEEK!

Even though the thought of getting older isn't my favourite thing to ponder, I still like to get together with my friends to celebrate the day I was born. Really, it's an excuse to have a party and I'm always up for a party to celebrate me...even though it means that I'm now fully entrenched in my 30s.

A few months ago, Auntie Em's Scrapbooking announced that Cari Fennell would be coming to teach a few classes. Cari designs for Prima and is uber-talented! Bonus: Cari would be here on my birthday weekend!

The Scrapbooking Divas and I are signed up for the mini-album class this coming Saturday. I'm SUPER excited! I'm looking forward to meeting Cari, going to my favourite scrapbooking store and, most importantly, spending time with my divas.

Photo evident of the mayhem that will obviously ensue will be available next week.

Happy scrappin'!

My wishlist - CHA winter 2012

I've never paid more attention to Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) releases than I have to the winter 2012 release. There is a positive and negative side to this extra attention.

The positive is that I'm aware of all the wonderful new collections being released by my favourite companies, like Echo Park, Bo Bunny and Little Yellow Bicycle. Plus, I'm learning to love companies that I wouldn't have gone near in the past, like Prima and Jillibean Soup.

The negative is that I'm aware of all the wonderful new collections being released by my favourite (old and new) companies and that I want to buy EVERYTHING!

Obviously, I can't buy everything. This is when I wish I could win millions in the lottery. But today, I'm still not a millionaire...so, in the coming weeks, I will have to make some tough decisions on what I'm going to purchase, what I'm going to have to put off purchasing, and what I'm going to let go of entirely.

But, for right now, I'm still in a wonderful fantasy land where I don't have to budget and I can dream about all the stuff I want! Her is my wishlist so far. It is by no means complete! I'm sure there will be more to come!

Fancy Pants Designs

There are two lines from Fancy Pants that I love from this release: Childish Things and Water Searcher. You can see a sneak peek of both lines here.

As most of the people who read my blog know, I have 3 year old boy named Sam. These lines are perfect for scrapbooking little boys at play.

Prima

I'm usually not a big Prima lover. I don't do a lot of vintage scrapbooking and I have a boy, so the flowers are usually too girly for my taste. When I saw the winter 2012 releases from Prima though, I feel in love with Almanac and En Français. You can see both lines here. On this page, if you scroll down, you will also see the mixed media products. I think I'm going to branch out of my comfort zone and use these products. I have a great idea for a project involving a certain new addition in my life (no, I'm not pregnant!).

I'll detail more of my wishlist in future entries. For now, drool over Fancy Pants and Prima!


Happy scrappin'!